FRANKFURT, Aug 7: German stock market operator Deutsche Boerse sent strong signals on Monday that it still has ambitions of a merger with reluctant pan-European rival Euronext, revealing that it is working on statutes to run a merged entity.

The statutes, drawn up on the basis of Deutsche Boerse’s merger proposals from June 19, were for a new holding company to be based in Amsterdam.

This would be an umbrella for the activities of both the German company and Euronext, Deutsche Boerse said in a statement.

Publishing the statutes in this way would “contribute further to the current debate about the proposed merger with Euronext,” the statement said.

“We will continue to pursue our ongoing dialogue with the interested parties of both companies,” Deutsche Boerse sadded.

The German group has repeatedly tried to persuade Euronext, which operates the Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon exchanges, of the virtues of a tie-up. But its efforts have so far been to no avail, with the Euronext preferring to be taken over by the New York Stock Exchange.

Deutsche Boerse has made important concessions in an effort to overcome the resistance of Euronext’s management, saying that the combined company need not be headquartered in Frankfurt. Instead, the responsibilities would be shared between Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt.

Similarly, the combined entity would adopt Euronext’s NSC electronic trading system.

Nevertheless, Deutsche Boerse wants to hold on to its Luxembourg-based clearing house Clearstream, while Euronext wants to the clearing and settlement activities farmed out to a third party.

The proportion of the new merged entity to be held by Deutsche Boerse and Euronext would be calculated on the basis of the average share price of each company during the past three months.—AFP